Gamon Sakurai’s military science-fiction manga, The Pool, published its final chapter in the September issue of Kodansha’s Good! Afternoon magazine on Thursday. The series, which launched in the same magazine in 2024, concludes its narrative detailing a space squad’s encounters with terrifying creatures.
The End of a Thrilling Sci-Fi Journey
The Pool offered readers a tense and survival-focused narrative. The story primarily follows Chief Yugi Oishi and her space squad as they face menacing alien entities. The manga’s conclusion marks the end of a series that aimed to deliver a unique blend of military action and science-fiction horror.
Publication History and English Release
Gamon Sakurai, also widely recognized for his popular Ajin: Demi-Human manga, began The Pool in Kodansha’s Good! Afternoon magazine in February 2024. The manga has been released in English by Vertical Comics and Kodansha USA Publishing, making it accessible to a global audience. Additionally, Crunchyroll posted new chapters concurrently with their Japanese release, further broadening its reach. Kodansha published the 17th and final compiled book volume in Japan in May 2021.
Gamon Sakurai’s Previous Works and Impact
Sakurai’s prior work, Ajin: Demi-Human, gained significant acclaim and was adapted into both a television anime series and a 3D CG anime film trilogy. The success of Ajin set high expectations for The Pool, and the manga continued Sakurai’s exploration of intense action and speculative fiction themes. The Pool focused on a space squad led by Chief Yugi Oishi, who, after detecting an SOS flare from a supposedly abandoned mine on an alien planet, leads her team into a perilous situation against monstrous creatures. The series explored themes of survival and the unknown dangers lurking in deep space.
